


Night Watch

by lwise2019



Series: Mikkel's Story [38]
Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23741716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lwise2019/pseuds/lwise2019
Summary: Conversation in the night.
Series: Mikkel's Story [38]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536739
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Night Watch

“It's my watch. Go away.”

“No, I think we should talk now that the others are asleep.”

“The scout's not asleep. He's running around out there somewhere.”

“True, but he can't understand us so it doesn't matter if he overhears.” Mikkel took a deep breath. “Please.”

“Okay, whatever. Talk if you want. It doesn't matter,” Sigrun answered, turning away with a miserable shrug. Still unable to move from the site of the battle, they hadn't been willing to rely on Lalli and the tank's sensors and had set watches for the night, so she was standing the second watch.

“We made mistakes last night. But there have been a lot of mistakes, starting with the sponsors allowing Tuuri to come in the first place – ”

“She wanted to come.”

“Of course she did; we're all volunteers. But she should not have been allowed. Putting that aside, the bridge should have been inspected and repaired before we were ever sent across it. And, given the condition of _everything_ in the Silent World, there should have been some kind of rescue plan.”

“Yeah, well, lots of stuff went wrong. So what's your point?”

“Just that the mistakes last night wouldn't have mattered if not for a whole series of mistakes before that. Many of which were not even _our_ mistakes.”

“You want me to say it wasn't my fault? Is that what you want? Then just go away, because it _was_ my fault, and I know it.”

“Look, I think I understand why you … allowed the wound to go untreated for a few days. You're a troll-hunter, and a troll-hunter doesn't whine about injuries on a hunt, does she?”

“No …”

“And she especially doesn't whine about injuries to a … non-combatant.”

“Uh …”

“A non-combatant. Like me.”

“I … didn't trust you as a fighter. Last night you fought good. As good as the others. I should have listened to Uncle Trond. He said I could trust you, but Dad read your records and he said you weren't a good soldier.”

That actually surprised a chuckle out of him. Nearby, invisible in the forest, Lalli paused at the sound. The big man and the captain were talking and they weren't angry anymore. That made him feel a little better, and he slipped silently away on his patrol.

“Oh, I _wasn't_ a good soldier! But not because I couldn't fight,” he added soberly. “I … didn't obey orders very well.”

“What, you were a mutinist risk for them too?” There was just a hint of amusement creeping into her voice.

“Just so! They kicked me out after a while for that. But you see now that I'm _not_ a non-combatant. And Sigrun, this isn't a troll-hunt. We're stuck here for a long time, and you must trust your teammates – trust me – to do our jobs. Telling me you're hurting isn't whining. It's letting me do _my_ job. You can't just rely on yourself.”

“Yeah, okay. But last night … Tuuri …”

“The mistakes last night, the mistake of trying to take care of your wound by yourself, all those wouldn't have mattered but for a series of mistakes and unforeseen events. Who ever heard of grosslings hunting people for miles and hours in broad daylight, in the winter? A crowd like that should have broken up, wandered off, retreated into shelter, squabbled, long before it reached us. If they'd acted like grosslings have always acted, none of this would have happened. It was not a mistake to expect them to act as they have always acted before.

“And I'm worried, Sigrun. For decades everyone has known how grosslings act. We were all taught as children, we all teach children, that if you run into a grossling, you hide, stand still, stay silent, and it will probably forget you and wander off. But if they aren't acting that way anymore, if they're starting to organize as these were organized … how can the human race stand against them?”

“There are so _many_ of them,” she whispered in horror, looking directly at him for the first time. “They'd overwhelm us. We're only able to kill them because they're alone or in little groups.”

“If they're able to organize, we might be driven off the continent entirely. We might not be able to hold anything but Iceland and maybe Bornholm.”

She stared at him for a moment and then managed a chuckle of her own. “You know, you're the only guy I've ever met who could cheer me up by telling me that things are worse than I ever imagined! So, you've made your point. Are you going to bed now?”

“No, no reason to. I have the next watch and a few minutes sleep won't help.” _And I'd probably have nightmares anyway._ “I'll just watch with you. If you don't mind.”

She didn't mind, and they finished her watch in companionable silence. As she left him to his watch, there was a slight bounce in her step that had been missing all day.


End file.
